Y is for....

1) You, the Reader. Thank you for coming by, I hope you have liked what you have found here. I also hope that you will try my novel “Despite the Angels”, and pass on the word about it to your friends! You, as the reader, are the most important person in this equation - would I write if I thought no-one would ever read it? Probably not....The novelist Joseph O’Connor, writing in the forward to “Circle Time”, the 2011 anthology of work by the Dalkey Writers’Workshop, put it eloquently: “A story, like a song, takes its chances alone. What the reader does is the truly creative part of the relationship, for in the unique and intimate courtship opened out by the book, the little black ink-stains called ‘words’ and ‘sentences’ are blazed into life by imagination.”

2) Yummy! All my life I have been interested in good food, a trait I have passed on to my daughter, who with her friend, has a lovely blog all about food. (check out Gastronomic Girls) A few foods start with Y - yoghurt, yam, yakitori, and this last one brings me to one of my favourite restaurants in Dublin, Yamamori. I’m particularly a fan of sashimi.

3) Yellow Dock is the common name for the remedy Rumex, which is good for those  coughs which are caused by a tickle at the base of the throat.

A Good Critique

I had a half-hour visit with Chris Binchy (novelist, DunLaoghaire-Rathdown writer-in-residence, and Maeve's nephew) in Stillorgan library yesterday, and it was really encouraging. I had sent him the first nine A4 pages of "Despite the Angels" to comment on.
He liked the writing, and though he had a few minor suggestions about style, there was nothing major, and I agree with all his improvements. He liked the idea of the book, and feels it should be published. In fact he seemed surprised that it has not been taken up already by a conventional publisher. But of course, just now is a terrible time for old-style publishing.
We had a long chat about 'genre' because on Amazon as well as with ordinary publishers you have to be clear what genre your book is. Chris feels this is a pity as writers then write to fit the genre rather than writing the book that they want to write. No trouble with me on that one, I have always been a rebel, and so far it has rarely done me much good!
For me the most exciting thing in the meeting was that Chris thought my book is 'almost literary fiction'. That's not good from a sales point of view, as some people are scared of 'literature'. But for my confidence it's great, a good reflection on the actual writing.
I came out with my writing-energy replenished, and my optimism ratings hugely improved. Many thanks, Chris, and DunL-Rathdown County Council for making these meetings possible.

All writing is re-writing

So I am getting on with the pre-editor editing. It's a while since I wrote Despite the Angels, so it's almost like reading it fresh! I've been sad all along that I was never going to be able to just read this story, it's just the sort of thing I'd like....
The easiest part to write was the spirit guides' conversations. All completely made up stuff, but just laid itself down on the page as though it was being dictated. Perhaps it was ! (spooky??)
My third book has no angels or spirit world in it, and although I'm enjoying my characters, I do miss my angel friends. So expect a third angel-y book in the future.